Devil in the Middle
by paynesgrey
Summary: Peter is suspicious when Tracy Strauss appeals to him for help. Peter x Tracy UST. Season 3 spoilers. ONESHOT GIFTFIC. This will not be continued.


AN: Written as a request fic for rtwofan on Livejournal. This is a one-shot and will not be continued.

Devil in the Middle

He taps his fingers on the leather arm of the chair. Peter looks around, feeling oddly discontent as the ticking of the old clock on the wall is the loudest noise he hears. The place is fancy, with white-washed walls, large paintings of dead presidents and scarlet and brown furniture accenting the enriched room.

Tracy Strauss sure has picked herself up after that whole Building 26 incident.

His attention piques when Tracy enters the room with two empty glasses in her hand. She has a coy smile plastered on her face, and Peter becomes more suspicious to why she's called him here.

"Whiskey?" she asks, and Peter immediately shakes his head.

"My brother likes that, but I don't," Peter says quickly. Tracy's grin widens, yet her eyes look darker at the mention of Nathan. She sashays her tempting hips to the side of another chair and leans lightly as she watches him.

"I bet you're more of an amaretto kind of guy," she guesses, and Peter furrows his brow and nods once. Tracy seems pleased with her guess as she slides over to the mini bar.

Peter straightens in the sofa and watches her back with a scowl. "Why did you ask me here again?" He says it a little too biting. Ever since they rid the world of Sylar, he's been in and out of bad moods, and his trust level is almost nil to members outside his family.

Even Nathan still has to win points with him.

Tracy, however, isn't offended by his suspicions. In fact, she's more than a gracious host. She hands him the drink, but he lets it sit on the side table for now.

"I wanted to talk with you, Peter," she sits down in the chair opposite of his, and she crosses her legs quickly in front of him. Peter notices her legs much more than he wants to. Her light eyes glitter at him as she takes a large sip. Peter can smell the whiskey from his seat.

"Just talk?" he asks in disbelief.

"Yes, but more importantly, I want to apologize for betraying you," she says. She tries to sound sincere, and it's genuine to some degree; Peter can feel that much. However, she has an agenda tucked neatly behind her tantalizing smile, and he sympathizes with her. Like Nathan, Tracy obviously has a hard time showing her emotions and being considerate to people. Peter guesses she's been in politics so long, she probably doesn't see the difference between saying something and feeling something in the same way.

Peter tries not to hold that against her, but it doesn't mean he won't be cautious. He knows for a fact his brother tried appealing to Tracy only two weeks ago, and she bluntly refused him (and called him a few names in the meantime). So why is she appealing to _him_?

Peter picks up his drink this time. The amaretto is sweet against his tongue. "That's in the past. I hardly knew you." He pauses and Tracy appears mildly shocked. "I don't know you that well now either."

"Then let's get to know each other," Tracy says, and Peter admits he walked right into that.

He chuckles and tilts his head to the side. "Are you sure you want that? You do remember who my brother is?"

"I also remember that your brother doesn't rule your life, nor does he shape the person you are, Peter. Let me be frank. I have no interest in getting involved with Nathan Petrelli anymore." She's serious about that. Peter smirks. So she wants to get involved with him?

"Nathan has way more connections than I do," Peter says. "I'm just an EMT."

Tracy reclines comfortably in the chair and releases an intrigued sigh. "Ah, I think you sell yourself short. Rumor has it you're more powerful than he is in other ways."

Peter shakes his head, and he leans over his knees to close the gap a little between them. "I haven't told many people about the powers I have. You've been talking to someone close to me. Who is it?"

Tracy's grin is dangerous, and Peter finds it oddly alluring. Tracy Strauss is not a woman to tangle with on the political scale, but she seems highly enticing to tangle with in other ways. Peter can't believe he's having such thoughts.

He stares at her, hoping she'll reveal her source. He suspects that's a pipe dream. "Alright, I'll bite. What do you want?"

"A truce, first of all." Then he sees her guard come down a notch. For a second she looks strangely vulnerable. She stiffens as his eyes roam over her, tapping at her senses with his empathy. The glimpse she gives him into her psyche intrigues him even more, and Peter changes his mind about giving her a chance.

In fact, the more he feels from her demeanor, the more Peter wants to know her too.

"Fine, I think we've established that," Peter says softly. He gives her a sympathetic look. "Those were dark times, Tracy. We were all acting desperate to stay free and alive."

Tracy pauses. Her smile tempers and she starts to look at him differently too, as if she's seeing something she's never assumed about him.

"I think we could be good as allies, Peter Petrelli," she says, her tone softening the most he's ever heard. She takes another sip of that horrid whiskey and takes the aftertaste with ease.

Peter nods once. "Okay, what do you have in mind?"

She straightens on the couch and rests her arms over the sides, appearing very controlled. She gives him a stern yet unrelenting look as she slides into her business mode. He assumes that when she gets this way at work, most officials don't have a chance.

"I help you with anything outside of your brother's circle, social or political I mean, and you have to help me with something else – something you're good at. You'll protect me from danger, no questions asked."

"You want me to be your bodyguard? No offense, but I think you are more than capable of taking care of yourself. I've heard the rumors about you. You can take liquid form, not just ice. I imagine you can take the other form of water too," he speculates, and she raises a single eyebrow to that tidbit. So much for poker faces.

"That's true, but I do need someone in my corner. I want you," she says silkily, and Peter can hardly refuse.

"I won't help you if you start hurting people," Peter clarifies. "I will only help you out of danger of yourself. If you do anything against the law…"

Tracy chuckles. "Ever the boy scout…as I suspected." Amused, she nods in agreement. "I would never ask anything of you that goes against your moral compass."

"I don't know if I believe that," Peter says sardonically, finishing the last of his drink. Tracy giggles, and he idly notices when she shifts one leg to cross over the other.

"So are we in agreement?" she asks, and Peter nods reluctantly, still suspicious on what this bizarre alliance entails.

"Good, so there's only one more thing," she says, and Peter feels annoyed at not foreseeing an addendum. "You're taking me to dinner tonight."

Peter tenses in the chair, feeling side-swiped that she'd be so bold. Is there more that she wants from him? He can already see lines being crossed as long as he's in Tracy's presence.

"Is this part of the bodyguard job?" he asks slyly.

Tracy grin does not waver. "Of course not." She shakes her head and rolls her eyes. She stands up from her chair and glides over to his seat, and he watches her legs as his gaze slowly drifts up to her face. He can't believe he's having dirty thoughts about a woman his brother slept with. Peter thinks the world is screwed up enough.

She takes his empty glass and says, "Come on, Peter. You should know what happens when a woman asks you to dinner."

Now, she's just teasing him. Peter stands up from his chair and adjusts his jacket. He leans in close to her face, and she doesn't budge when he stands within her personal space.

He pauses, and Tracy lets his silence soak up the moment. Her eyes are roaming about his face, and Peter sees her stare at his lips, waiting for his words or something else.

"Don't worry, Tracy. I know exactly what dinner means," he says with a crooked smile. She sways a little happily, and he feels her hand tuck a stray strand of his dark hair behind his ear.

"Good," she says in a heated breath, and though Peter feels immediately bewitched, he knows it's his risk to take.

With Tracy Strauss, Peter has never felt more frightened and aroused at sharing a dinner with someone.

END


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